In the city of bicycles and canals, we wrapped up our series of environment forums in style - on a houseboat! After a conversation with Pauline at NEWNRG Academy, a renewable energy enterprise, she offered us her houseboat office space as a venue. It was a great fit because it was completely off the grid, using renewable energy sources.

Pauline also connected us with Claire, a recent university graduate in Environmental Resource Management who took on the role of event organizer extraordinaire, coordinating the houseboat preparations and arranging for delicious refreshments, including organic soda donated from Oggu, an Amsterdam company. Claire's dedication and attention to detail were inspiring, she was instrumental in putting together a fabulous event. 

Marloes, Tread Lightly's Dutch Language and Engagement Coordinator, also joined in to help recruit participants and prepare some tasty appetizers.

Before we got started, Layana from NEWNRG Academy gave us an overview of the features of the houseboat and its innovative renewable energy sources. 

The Amsterdam forum brought together players in environmental education and Rio+20 organizers from across the city, including NME Centrum, Eco-schools, FELT Agency, and JMA. Many of the participants were involved in Rio+20 work in their respective organizations, which made for a well-informed discussion. 

We were pleased to welcome three representatives from Staples Europe at the event: Katy, Jamie and Mark from the Amsterdam office joined in to talk about Staples' ongoing support for Tread Lightly and participate in the discussion. Several ideas arose around how to connect companies such as Staples with community efforts, thanks to their contributions. 

The Staples involvement extended the the Lunch and Learn event at the Amsterdam office, where I presented to a group of 20 employees, introducing Tread Lightly with the goal of encouraging environmental responsibility among the Staples crowd. Everyone in attendance enjoyed a delicious lunch and contributed to a discussion around environmental initiatives that could be implemented at their office. 

With the Amsterdam event behind us, the next step is to compile the recommendations from each summit and submit to the UN and Peace Child International's Rio+20 contributions! Stay tuned for a summary of our recommendations.